#WWWednesday No. XVI | And, it’s audiobooks for the win! Find out why audio reads are luring Jorie back into reading whilst #SelfPubFanMonth kicks off this September!

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading!?
• What did you recently finish reading!?
• What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

And, it’s audiobooks for the WIN!

Find out why audio reads are luring Jorie back into reading!

Who knew the best way to JUMP START your readerly life which has been on an unexpected sabbatical for the Summer was to queue up some audiobooks!? You did? I did not. Until I started hearing narrators in my ears who were luring me back into reading in such a fantastic way! I might have had a few misses this week, as you’ll notice throughout this post but boy! Was I charmed and grateful for the narrators all the same! Just because I wasn’t able to fully anchour myself into each of their narrated stories – what did pull me through the week was the JOY of discovering their style of narration and the dexterity they had for giving us such a promising selection of voices, accents and characters to tuck close to as their voices reached my ears and imagination.

I’ve also been kinder to myself about the time I have to read and/or listen to audiobooks – rather than block out HOURS to devout to one story or audiobook, I’ve been selectively choosing which hour, half hour or afternoon/evening where I am off work and able to give attention to stories again. By breaking it down into smaller helpings of reading and listening to audiobooks, I’m finding my way forward and out of the drought that Summer gave me where I was unable to focus on reading and thus, found myself quite miserable because the lost hours between May and August almost felt like too deep of a chasm to climb out of and return back to my regular patterns of reading.

Even those short moments are improving my state of mind when it comes to resuming my visitations with stories and also, unlike months and years in the past before I worked two full-time jobs as I have been doing this year (er, wells, technically since mid-October, 2021 as I went back to work originally in February, 2021) — where I could devout more substantial time to reading, blogging and engaging – I am happy to announce I am finding my new rhythm and it is wonderful. It is hard when you have to take a pause on something you love and just get through the daily grind until something improves lateron. For me, I missed the discovery of characters, the immersion of story and the joy of seeing a writer’s vision come through their narrative and world. I ached to re-experience those moments again and finally, at long last I can say with confidence, I am back reading regularly — albeit with a bit of a different methodology of execution but all the same, I’m reading and listening to audiobooks and it FEELS GREAT!

What Jorie is currently reading:

A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver (*audiobook) via NetGalley

The Secret at Sunset Hill by K.T. McGivens (*re-read & continuation)
: guest of @SatBookChat from July, 2021

→ My first #WyrdAndWonder Wednesday selection:
The Living Waters by Dan Fitzgerald (*re-read & continuation) : (see also Post)

→ My first #SelfPubFanMonth selection:
Dead as a Dodo (Wonderland Detective Agency) by Jeannie Wycherley (*audiobook)
*the writer behind my beloved Wonky Inn series : (see also Reviews)

Back in May, I found out about the Wonderland Detective Agency novels which were released into audiobook by the author behind my beloved Wonky Inn series which is narrated by Kim Bretton. She has brought Alf to life so dearly brilliantly – her narration goes through til Book Five. I’ll be purchasing the following books ahead of #SpooktasticReads (in October, 2022): The Witch Who Killed Christmas (in paperback as it’s a special release), Fearful Fortunes & Terrible Tarot (Book Four) and The Mystery of the Marsh Malaise (Book Five) — which is why I’m shifting forward during #SelfPubFanMonth to start listening to another of her series – brought to life by Joanna  Lee!

She fast became an autobuy/autolisten author of mine – due to the fact I dearly LOVE to DEVOUR her stories and I love her wickedly entertaining sense of wit and humour, too! I can’t wait to see what awaits me in the Wonderland Detective Agency and I am thoroughly blessed for the chance to listen to Dead as a Dodo during my first year participating in Self Pub Fantasy Month!

In regards to A Peculiar Combination — I must say, it is one of those titles on my NG backlogue I’ve been delishly curious about listening too but every moment I tried to hear it since I was approved for it felt like the timing was off somehow or another. I lost my footing this week a bit when I recognised the fact I couldn’t shift past the Prologue and first Chapter of After Math – which I will explain in a moment — so much so, that I was floundering a bit to find my #nextread or #nextlisten. Then, I decided – why not try this one? Wells, that turnt out to be the solution! This narrator not only pulled me into her orbit of bringing the character to life, but she has this way of having a walking consciousness throughout her narration to where it becomes quite addictive!

I will say, I know this audiobook will be with me for most of the next few weeks, as the duration is upwards of 20 hours or thereabouts – ergo, I will be taking my time and listening to it off/on throughout the month before featuring it during one of my #CrimeFicFridays wherein I try to feature the Cosy Crime stories I love reading. I also found out my library has the sequel on audiobook I can borrow which depending on how well I love A Peculiar Combination – that one might be next in queue for October as I try to read a lot of Mysteries, Crime Dramas, Thrillers or Suspense between October & December every year.

I knew I was going to be re-reading The Living Waters at some point and this felt like the right timing for me to give myself the proper chance to finish reading this first story of a duology. I was meant to feature the sequel The Isle of a Thousand Worlds during the last blog tour hosted with Storytellers on Tour. They would always feature Independent and Self-Published Speculative Fiction authors and I must say, their presence in my book blogging life is dearly missed. I know I am not the only book blogger on their team who misses their tours and sadly, I haven’t seen another touring company who had their vision for hosting those kinds of authors and stories. It was a matter of feeling overwhelmed last year and I had to take a pass on featuring the sequel as I was just getting used to working two full-time jobs back then.

I had an unexpected surprise discovery when I went to put together my post for reading Death on the Boardwalk which is why I had to make this hard choice:

→ The Myrtle Beach Mysteries by Caleb Wygal *are currently on hold!* of being read

I didn’t know that there was a prequel released which has events & moments ahead of the first body being discovered by the lead character! It’s called “The Brass Key” and as I prefer to read series in sequence of order, I’ve decided to delay beginning this series until I can read the prequel – as it would affect my ability to move forward as the prequel occurs so dearly close to the first novel, I felt it would be a disservice to read the first book before the prequel. I reached out to the author about potentially receiving a copy of the prequel and I’ll update on my readings of this series as I move forward. If he doesn’t have a copy I’ll have to purchase one this month in order to read books one and two of the series.

Due to this I’ve started re-reading The Secret at Sunset Hill which is writ by a featured author via @SatBookChat of whom I had the delight of interviewing through #SatBookChat. It is a Cosy Historical Mystery and the start of a series – of which I had fully intended to read and finish closer to when I interviewed the author directly – but like other stories over the years, sometimes I wasn’t always able to finish what I was reading. As September begins the time of the year I love to devour as many Mysteries, Suspense & Thriller stories as I can as it just feels like a season that agrees with me more to read those kinds of stories – I’m thankful I can start with this one as I enjoyed McGivens’ convo via #SatBookChat in July, 2021.

What Jorie recently read &/or finished reading:

Search for the Holy Grail by MJL Evans & GM O’ Connor
(*audiobook) via Audiobook Empire’s blog tour – DNF

After Math by Emily Barth Isler (*audiobook) via NetGalley – DNF

Out Mouse! by Valerie L. Egar (*audiobook) via NetGalley – LOVED!

You might be surprised to learn that I had two DNFs this week in my readings – however, despite the fact I was unable to properly connect into the story of Search for the Holy Grail, I had an INCREDIBLE connection to the NARRATOR. Which is why I wrote my first ever NARRATOR focused REVIEW for an audiobook blog tour! (check it out!) I was pleasantly surprised by my second listening of the narration styling of Ms Lewis! Her capacity to draw you into her voice and to listen to her fully immerse herself into a narration was the best gift I gained by being on this audio blog tour. It also gave me a hearty reason to dive back into Wintersong.

I was quite chuffed this review was well-received by both one of the authors and the narrator alike as what I hoped I could convey on this post was warmly received by those who’ve read it. Another narrator found it too, and that brought me a big smile this week, too. I love giving credit to the narrators – as yes, it is the writer who composes the characters and the story – but the narrator is the one whose presenting that vision to us as audiobook listeners and honestly, they can make/break it for me. Lewis is one of those narrators you want to earmark for your headphones — trust me when I tell you, she’s wickedly entertaining!

Whilst at the same time, I found my time spent within the early bits of After Math to be a bit more than I bargained for as it quickly became a fictionalised version of the events which happened in Sandy Hook. I mistook this story as one about a middle schooler recovering from the loss of her brother who prematurely died due to a medical condition rather than the story that was evolving through my ears. Unfortunately for me, despite loving the voice and narration styling of the author (as she narrated her own story) I had to ‘let go’ of this one — there was a lot to unpack throughout the opening bridge, too. From the children the lead character is meeting on her first day who continue to talk about the tragedy as if it were yesterday (rather than the four years the book mentioned since the shooting occurred) to the cross-effects of how young children with PTSD are trying to move forward and away from the past but are finding it hard to find traction in the present – which of course, makes sense but it was just heavy. Heavier than I thought it was going to become and despite also, loving how Isler was fusing mathematical equatic thought-streams into the background of her lead character’s view of her world – both internal and external – it just wasn’t enough to keep me grounded into the storyline. Mostly as I was just unprepared for the content and the direction how the story was being told. Definitely go into this one knowing what to expect – otherwise, you’ll be as caught off guard as I was myself.

The STORY of the HOUR for me is “Out, Mouse!” — a dearly delightful short story read brilliantly by the narrator and of which has you vying for more scenes with Mr and Mrs Mouse! At one point, I had to act out portions of the story for my Mum as it gave me so much joy to listen too – it felt better to share the experience(s) I was having with her as she wants to get into listening to audiobooks, too. The delight of course is the curiously cheeky humour within the manner of writing letters to mice and effectively having a direct impact on their lives through those hand-written suggestive letters about where they should live and why it is imperative, they choose a different location than their current dwelling with Finn!

Honestly – this is a wicked good listen for ALL ages — especially for those who have fond memories of stories like The Cricket in Times Square and other stories wherein animals have voices and personalities and their own lives being lived concurrent to ‘humans’.

What Jorie is reading next:

Someone in Time (anthology) edited by Jonathan Strahan : (see also Post)

Boys & Girls Screaming by Kern Carter

Prison Break Hostage by Anna J. Stewart (5th Novel of Honour Bound series)
: (see also Reviews) (*review team member)

→ My second #SelfPubFanMonth selection:
Star of Sage & Scream (Owl Star Witch series) by Leanne Leeds (*audiobook)
(*by the author of Magical Midway series) : (see also Reviews)

→ My third #SelfPubFanMonth selection:
Viking Quest by Edale Lane
(*by an author I love reading) : (see also Reviews)

As previously mentioned, I’m queuing the Blackwell Sisters and Butterfly Harbour back into my reading life this September – however, both will be read in tandem starting very soon and I’ll have an update about those readings next week. Before I re-join those series, however, I have another Honour Bound story I want to read as I never meant to have such a distance from reading the last one which was Guarding His Midnight Witness. This new story Prison Break Hostage involves Jack’s sister Ashley – and let’s just say, I’ve been on pins awaiting to read her story! The good news is that this series will continue into 2023 with the release of The PI’s Deadly Charade.

It should be known that I’ve become very attached to the Honour Bound series and especially to the McTavish’s: Jack and Ashley. To have the chance to curl into Ashley’s story now is quite the gift to myself as I found Jack’s story riveting and dearly suspenseful as I just wasn’t sure for so many chapters how it was all going to resolve, and I have a feeling Ashley’s story is going to keep me on the edge of my seat as much as Jack’s!

I selected two Springtime review opportunities I didn’t get to focus on this year to requeue into my readerly life this September, as I’m trying to focus on my current backlogue and also, my more extensive backlogue behind it. Thereby, there was this lovely collection of time bending romances called: Someone in Time which I just never had the chance to address closer to when I was hosting the blog tour in May. I was going to feature this story during a new showcase I’ve been trying to compile into Sundays, called #SciFiSundays when I’m not featuring #INSPYSundays stories. Let’s see if I can pull this into my September showcases, shall we?

The other title of course is Boys and Girls Screaming which at the time I knew might be a harder read but it held a lot of promise if I could get through the storyline. This just fell by the wayside due to work and limited days off to focus on reading this Spring. Which is why I’m re-attempting to read it now — I may or may not read this within a week, as the harder reads I’m finding sometimes take me a bit longer to get through and this could be one of them OR I might surprise myself and finish it sooner. We’ll just have to wait and see on this one!

My third selection for #SelfPubFanMonth was a SURPRISE story – as the author gifted me three audiobooks recently from the Owl Star Witch series without obligation to review. I liked the sound of the premise for this new series and whilst listening to the narrator, I must say, her voice captured  my attention which is why I knew it would be an interesting series to hear this September for the Self Pub Fantasy Month event. Whilst at the same time, I knew I was going to be reading Edale Lane for the event as well and decided to start with Viking Quest as she has a new Viking novel out this month as well called: Sigrid and Elyn. However, by the cover art for that release, it feels a bit more fierce and focused on battle than this nautical one which I feel might be my preference of the two releases.

As this is serving as my announcement of reading Self Pub Fantasy novelists this September, I am hoping others who are participating might leave me comments about what they are reading and if they’ve posted a reading list of their own on their blogs, too. I look forward to seeing what everyone is focusing on this month and seeing where the event takes us all throughout September! For me, just to return back to Fantasy after a long hard-won Summer is absolute blissitude as it will help me in turn close the door on our 5th Year of Wyrd And Wonder as I move into writing my closing posts and final thoughts on #WyrdAndWonder, 2022.

Before you leave —

If you are listening to audiobooks or participating in Self Pub Fantasy Month – I would love to know what your hearing or reading throughout September. And, if you’re not participating in the event not to worry! As you can tell by this post, I read multi-genres and have a wide range of interest when it comes to my readerly life both in audio & print. I’m always curious about what others are discovering in their own readerly lives, so don’t hesitate to share a post of your own in the comments I can visit and read about, too.

{Sources: Book covers for “A Peculiar Combination” and “Out Mouse!” provided by NetGalley and are used with permission. Book cover for “The Living Waters” was provided by the author during the blog tour hosted via Storytellers on Tour and is used with permission. Book cover for “Dead as a Dodo” provided by the author Jeannie Wycherley and is used with permission. Book cover for “The Secret at Sunset Hill” provided by the author K.T. McGivens and  is used with permission. Book Cover for “Someone in Time” provided by the publisher during the blog tour with Lola’s Blog Tours and is used with permission. Book Cover for “Prison Break Hostage” provided by the author Anna J. Stewart and is used with permission. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #WWWWednesdays and the Comment Box banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2022.

I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life:

Sorting out my #SelfPubFanMonth reading queues as I have some wicked AWESOME #audiobooks I'm listening to this year throughout September for the event; whilst I have a smaller stack of books; just to return to reading #Fantasy will be a welcome respite!😉🫶

Whose joining me?🙋

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 30, 2022

.@joriestory🎊NEW #WWWWednesday!

🎧📚#Audiobooks for the win!😉
🧙‍♂️What #JorieReads for #SelfPubFanMonth
🕵️Queuing some Mysteries & Suspense

A lovely hodgepodge of genres this week!🦝

🗒️https://t.co/xuSbAHLcHH@DanFitzWrites pic.twitter.com/MKhKSrE77j

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) September 2, 2022